


Unspoken

by soundofstorms



Category: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-13
Updated: 2016-09-24
Packaged: 2018-08-14 20:58:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8028691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soundofstorms/pseuds/soundofstorms
Summary: Neither of them said 'I love you'.





	1. Chapter 1

Neither of them said 'I love you'.

Fayt knew the words would do more harm than good still yet, and Albel would still die before uttering those damning three words, their weight akin to tying a noose about his neck.  
Still, maybe some shade of the sentiment colored their relationship, even with words unspoken. They'd always been better at actions over words, Fayt saying just enough for his intent to be known and Albel saying far less, letting his actions and choices speak for him.

The first time they'd come together hadn't even been _love_ , but something far more primal. Need had driven them into bed together, desperate and clawing and half mad.... mad with a need for affirmation, for feeling alive. It had been on the way to Airyglyph after their perception of reality had been shattered with no time to make comforting sense of the pieces, after seeing the fourth dimension, Arkives and the sickening parody of their world that constitutes the playground of Gemity.

Albel had intended to go alone, but he'd caved after one look at the storm in Fayt's green eyes. The younger man wanted a fight, _any_ fight, and gathering information and supplies with the others suited him far less than accompanying Albel to the capital and slaying monsters on the way. He kept a level head for the group, but Fayt wasn't flawless, and he was just as thrown off balance as the rest of them.

They'd cut a bloody path to Kirlsa between the two of them, and fallen into bed together upon arrival, clawing and biting at each other in a desperate fight to think about anything but the weight of their thoughts. If Fayt's sloppiness spoke towards inexperience, his eagerness and lack of shame certainly didn't imply it, and they'd left early the next morning with bites, bruises and scratches hidden carefully under their clothes, throwing occasional taunts and challenges to each other on the snowy road to Airyglyph.

After the blade had challenged him beneath Airyglyph, forcing Albel to bear all, they'd fallen together into bed again at the inn, and if Albel took comfort in the way the firmness of Fayt's kiss pulled him from his memories, he said nothing. It was just the blasted cold of the city that made the warmth of another body so inviting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I write things at stupid hours of the night or morning. I'm also focused on keeping the characters as IC as possible rather than devolving them into questionable characterization. Fayt is a very strong willed, stubborn, intelligent character who isn't exactly what I'd call 'innocent', and a lot of fanfiction forgets that he doesn't let Albel push him around. This might not continue, it might remain narration style or it might become something a little more solid, I can't say.


	2. Chapter 2

There was far less time for such things after reuniting with the group, a race against time to save the known universe..... a laughable way to put it, fit for bedtime stories rather than truth. All that existed, riding on them? Truly, it was well fitting that the gods were parodies unto themselves, for if they had existed they'd be laughing.

Still, even while traveling with their mismatched band of stubborn fools, it was clear something had changed. Fayt sat closer to Albel when they had to make camp, and if Albel sought Fayt out when he had something that needed asking, either about combat, time or supplies-- well, Fayt was the axis of the group. They might not all know each other well, but they all knew _Fayt_ , and while Maria drove them, Fayt bound them.

Bah, another thing laughable-- what place did 'Fate' have in any of this mess?

Still, the creator had fallen. When that breathless moment of soul-chilling nothingness had passed, they'd all been standing, alive and battered and exhausted but with their hearts still beating and bodies more or less whole. It was a victory no matter what bizarre theories Maria spouted that made no sense to Albel, and he'd take it as such.

The first town they'd come to, they'd all made a weary trek to the local inn, filing in like a line of half dead soldiers fresh from the battlefield-- which in many ways they were. All of them would carry scars from this, but they were alive. Far more money than was necessary was dumped in front of the innkeeper, and they'd all been given individual rooms to rest and relax. If they all didn't take to their own and instead sought company, no one said anything. The silence of an empty room was suffocating for some of them after everything that they'd been through.

It didn't take long at all before Fayt crawled into Albel's bed, weary and wordless and still damp from cleaning up, and Albel said nothing, simply shifted to allow for an easier fit, and if he let Fayt fit himself into the curve of his body and throw an arm around him, then it was only because the bed was small. It wasn't because the sound of another breathing or the feel of another heartbeat felt so comforting, and they both fell asleep with the physical weight of the other pressed against them, tethering them to the here and now.


	3. Chapter 3

After a day or two of simply recuperating, the group began to discuss _plans_.... and for his part, Albel intended to take a break from military service. The slight bitterness of betrayal still lay between him and his king, and peace suited him far less than war. He knew the king would let him go if he planned to keep Albel in any capacity, and so he planned to propose a long term recon mission. There might be some of those fourth dimension beasts still lingering, and they'd make for some sport. 

He wasn't at all surprised by some of the other plans he heard-- Zelpher would die before anything could pry her from her work and duty, not even a crisis of faith. Maria seemed ready to be done with the mission she'd been born for and accepted. Cliff seemed intent on returning to the stars as soon as he could, and Fayt's younger friend from home seemed eager to get back to her family. Fayt.....

Fayt seemed more conflicted. It wasn't hard to see why, either. 'Home' didn't exist for him and while family still did, he wasn't the same son who'd left his mother's side. He'd killed, he'd fought, and survived... and he'd done so, Albel would admit, with a great deal more skill than just any greenhorn swordsman fresh from his family's homestead. He'd seen the conflict in young soldiers in the Black Brigade. They were the survivors, the ones who threw themselves headfirst into learning and who forgot other things in the process. They changed. They thrived in the change, but couldn't shed it so easily to become who they'd been before for their families.

Surprisingly, _he_ was the one who asked Fayt to come with him. The shock and relief in Fayt's eyes had been all he needed to know it was the right thing to do. Certain others in their group seemed to disagree, but most kept silent.

Just as surprisingly, it was Nel who seemed to understand most.... and Cliff, who in his own protective way seemed resigned but accepting of Fayt's choice, loudly stating that if Fayt ever changed his mind there was always room for him with Quark. They could both see what Albel saw in Fayt, and neither would deny the young man the right to figure out his own path from here, even if his company in doing so wasn't their favorite person.

And so they all parted ways, slowly but surely. Some took longer to leave than others, but they all had places they wished to return to. Cliff passed out 'Communicators', and told them to hang onto them, a way to send messages to each other even across space, though limited in function.

And then they were alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter. if I continue I might change the writing style to better cover the one on one interactions that will start from here on out.

**Author's Note:**

> I write things at stupid hours of the night or morning. I'm also focused on keeping the characters as IC as possible rather than devolving them into questionable characterization. Fayt is a very strong willed, stubborn, intelligent character who isn't exactly what I'd call 'innocent', and a lot of fanfiction forgets that he doesn't let Albel push him around. This might not continue, it might remain narration style or it might become something a little more solid, I can't say.


End file.
